Month: March 2018

The Canyon cabin has been progressing well… Frank at Thunderbird had some great Merbau hardwood timber for the deck and interior flooring. Now its looking like a structure!

In season at the moment are a grove of strawberry guavas. They are delectable… especially enjoyed by us AND every other animal (both furry and feathered) around. We collected several buckets full over the two or three week season (thats 60 litres / ~15 gallons this year).

Dunnie was very proud of his lantana mound and new trail along the canyon under the chicken pen. Seems Little Dog quite enjoyed it too! A new stone stairway leading along the step bits was started. So far, maybe 10% to the canyon floor… only 90% remaining!

Here are our cherished hens who each lay an egg a day — some of which are near goose size! They are free-range (having three 1/3 acre pens) yet are fenced around to keep predators at bay. They LOVE anything green and keep their pens pretty well mowed.

We’ve been seeing dozens of varieties of mushrooms around the forest and woodlands. This group of nearly two dozen were near the roadside out front of our place — this one much larger than my cap. A meal for a family — yet never too sure to eat them.

With the sun and wonderful weather — we’ve been inundated by caterpillars and while they have been devouring our new growth on (especially) citrus. We’ve also been enjoying a surge of butterflies as a result. This one… must be planning on flying black and orange colours and in flight soon…

Hercules (once again) made the task of floor timber gathering easier. We found some great hardwood timber (from a home on Sunshine Beach) at mate Frank’s salvage yard in nearby Pomona.

Frederik from Denmark was with us for a week and was great help in nailing the floorboards to our new deck. Of course, it rained soon after we finished —and it looked fantastic. When we have time, we’ll re-oil and seal them. What a great venue for enjoying this magical place for years to come…

We’ve long wanted to capitalise and enjoy the slope nearest the chicken coop and garden which overlooks a large canyon along the South of our property. The canyon below is a dramatic backdrop and a steep slope defines the building. Several waterfalls form each time we have a deluge and the spray creates an impressive fog. Using materials salvaged from the adjacent forest, Dunnie (a.k.a. Lockie) helped Brett prepare the foundation. Using amazingly large timbers, we framed the exterior and spanned them with gorgeous yet significantly strong hardwood joists.

Our inspector came around, lofted his leg, and wetted the enormous timber piers.